Tall or small, it's all about the basketball!

When it comes to one of the nations' favorite games, it takes playersof all heights help to make the game what it is.

In this quirky photograph of the Kentucky Wildcats Ladies basketball team, it's easy to work out which the players are and who are the teams' cheerleaders.

The girls are all college students. Alyssa Rice on the left is a 6'3" freshman, while the tall female on the right is 6'6" junior Ivana Jakubcova.

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Struggles Tall Women Deal With

Olayinka May 30, 2017

As a tall woman from a family of tall women (all 6’0″ or taller), I won’t lie, being tall is pretty great. You can see over other people in a crowded room, you can reach items on high shelves, and when you’re a teenager, people always assume you’re older than you are, so it’s easy to sneak into R-rated movies. But being tall isn’t all catwalks and game-winning volleyball spikes – there are some unique challenges that come with a few extra inches. While I would like to suggest that you walk a mile in a tall woman’s shoes, chances are her shoes wouldn’t fit. Instead, just read on and commiserate with the struggles common to tall women everywhere.

Pants and sleeves are never long enough

Shopping is the worst. When the average American woman is roughly 5’3″, that means the average-sized clothing at your local mall is designed to fit a woman who is at least six inches shorter than the shortest woman I talked to for this article. Or, on the high end, a full foot shorter than my sister, who’s a gorgeous 6’3″ tall. Even ‘long’ lengths of pants often come with inseams just 34-inches long. Which sounds like a lot... unless you’re over 5’10”, in which case those ‘long’ pants just amount to slightly longer high-waters.

Granted, things have gotten better in the last 10 years, with some brands offering clothing specifically for tall women (GAP and its affiliated stores, for example), and other specialty stores opening that carry nothing but clothing for tall women (for instance, Long Tall Sally), but most tall clothing is still limited and has to be ordered online. This makes shopping a challenge that all too often results in frustration and poorly-fitting purchases. If you’re an especially tall lady, check out Nordstrom Rack for cute, reasonably-priced, larger-size shoes (they carry up to size 14) and The Buckle for jeans with long inseams – they often have brands with inseams up to 37-inches long.

Skirts, shorts, and dresses are always too short

The flip side to pants and sleeves that are never long enough is that shorts, skirts, and dresses are often obscenely short. Or, as Chauniqua Major, a 5’9″ tall PR rep based in Florida says, “They fit like underwear!” Of course, you can always opt to purchase “knee length” apparel that ends up hitting you mid-thigh, but that cute mini dress you thought would look great for your office holiday party? Probably not the best bet if you want to keep things even remotely professional.

One-pieces are a wedgie nightmare

When you stand in a shower and the showerhead is staring you straight in the face, you know you’re about to have a lame bathing experience. Instead of stretching comfortably under a stream of hot water, sudsing up your hair like you see in commercials, you end up bending, squatting, and contorting to fit your head under the stream. It’s uncomfortable at best and painful at worst, with Amanda Medau, a 6’1″ mother of four from Houston adding, “I’m always squatting in the shower and even hitting the shower ceiling sometimes.” Yeah, that’s never fun.

Desks and counters are too low

Whether you’re a man or a woman, if you’re tall, you’re basically a giant living in a world of miniatures. The reality is, the average American man is still just 5’10”, so anyone taller than that is kinda screwed when it comes to the proportions of standard furniture and construction. Desks, chairs, counters, tables — most of them are designed to be ergonomically-appropriate for the average person. When you’re above average, your body has to adapt to fit the average, which is usually pretty uncomfortable. “My desk at work is terribly uncomfortable. I’m always cracking my knees on it whenever I try to cross my legs. Adjusting the chair height doesn’t help because lowering the chair to accommodate my legs puts crazy strain on my arms and neck to type,” says Medau.

Brie Pierquet, a 5’10” social worker married to a 6’5″ man concurs, “At restaurants sometimes I look like I”m sitting at a child’s table. Just the other day I commented to my husband that the table we were at was not intended for tall people.” The struggle is real, folks.

The inevitable sports-related questions

I’m almost 35 years old. Even assuming I played sports in college (which I didn’t), it would have been well over a decade since I last played sports in a competitive league. And yet, two weeks ago I was stopped in the grocery store by a random dude who asked, “Do you play volleyball?” Uh, no.

The question isn’t mean or harmful. It’s fine, even. But if you answer, “No,” or even, “Not in a long time,” it’s always met with a confused disappointment, or even a follow-up question like, “Oh, not volleyball... but basketball, right? In college?” with such a weird hopefulness that almost necessitates some variety of “yes,” to help confirm whatever stereotypes the person has about who or what a tall woman should be. I certainly don’t go around asking short men if they’re gymnasts or jockeys, so it’s bizarre that the opposite takes place so frequently.

Navigating a world of shorter men

Across the board, the women I talked to for this article all love their height. They’re confident and self-assured. They sincerely enjoy being the tallest person in most rooms (especially when wearing heels), but that doesn’t mean the dynamic of being a tall woman in a world of shorter men isn’t sometimes awkward. Take, for instance, Alaina Johnson, a 6’0″ business owner from Dallas, who shared, “I was once at a business meeting where this guy stood on a chair — stood on a chair — to give me a hug. Granted, he was a shorter man and he was poking fun at himself, too, but we were at a business meeting.” And at a business meeting, there’s no good response to such a strange action.

Then there’s my sister, Mary McCoy, a PhD student and social worker who recounts many semi-combative conversations with men who think they’re taller than they actually are, “Inevitably, a guy who’s is maybe 5’11” will round up his height to 6’2″, then find it necessary to spar with me when I insist that no, I really am 6’3″, and he’s the one with the measuring problems.”

And finally, there are some cultural expectations that can actually interfere with a chosen career. As a professional dancer, LaBonde says, “It’s difficult for me to partner in dance. In heels I’m six feet tall, and most guys who dance, for whatever reason, are under six foot. Being partnered with someone shorter is difficult and aesthetically, not pleasing.” But it’s not just partnering that can be a challenge, “Today a director told me I was too tall for a role. It’s not the first time I’ve heard that, either.”

Lack of leg room on flights

If you think the leg room on flights is bad when you’re an averaged-sized person, just think how much worse it is when you’ve got the long legs of a gazelle. Johnson took a flight to Europe a few years ago and said, “I rode coach. I swear the airline had us in there like sardines. I basically had to keep my legs in the aisle the whole time, and gave the death stare to the person in front of me. That ish was about to get real if she leaned her seat back.” So yeah, be kind to tall people on flights. Think about offering your aisle seat to a long-legged passenger stuck at the window, or simply don’t lean your seat back. We really do need those extra two or three inches of space.

Messy bun problems

Aside from the fact that messy buns easily tack a couple extra inches onto a tall woman’s height (not a bad thing, of course), those extra inches can actually cause some problems. Megan Semanski, a 5’10” educator in Jefferson, Oregon says, “I can’t wear a messy bun on the top of my head and drive in my car. My hair smooshes on the roof of my car and has actually gotten closed in the moonroof a time or two.” Whoops.

Awkward group photo poses

When you’re a full head taller than some of your friends, group photos becomes a weird experience. Do you crouch? Half squat? Bend over or lean in? Kneel? The best solution is never clear, and it always looks awkward. Take this photo of me and two of my friends, for instance. It’s like the Sesame Street jingle, “Which one of these is not like the others?” Even crouching and leaning in still has me towering over my friends.

Back pain

In polling and research conducted by tall women’s clothing brand, Long Tall Sally, a full 76-percent of tall women experience back pain. In my somewhat less-scientific research and polling, I’d say that number is closer to 100 percent. I’ve literally never met a tall woman who hasn’t had back pain. Whether that’s because long limbs and levers lead to more opportunities for muscular imbalances and injuries, or that tall women are more likely to slouch, sit at non-ergonomic desks, or fail to exercise their cores sufficiently to help prevent pain, the result is the same: sometimes debilitating bouts of complete misery. I feel for you, girl, I’ve been there. And as an exercise physiologist I can also attest that regular exercise, particularly exercise that targets the core, back, and shoulders, is particularly important.

Being unable to escape “the conversation”

It’s not just questions about sports that arise when you’re tall, it’s questions or comments about height, in general. Whenever you meet someone new, or you just make small talk with someone at the store, the subject of height inevitably arises. My sister-in-law, a 6’2″ psychologist and mother of two relays the challenge, “I’m very glad I’m tall, and I find myself hoping that my daughters will be, too. I cannot imagine having had that hope back in middle school. The primary lingering issue is that my height is such a regular part of conversations with folks. Most of these conversations aren’t negative. They just happen so frequently and people seem oblivious to how often I hear questions, observations, or compliments about my height. Height guessing is the most annoying, and compliments are the easiest to manage, of course.”

She clarifies that these conversations have become less challenging over the years, “The license people give themselves to comment on a child’s body is ridiculous! People seem to police themselves better when talking to an adult, in general. It’s been decades since someone has idiotically tried to touch the top of my head. That was the worst.”

At the end of the day, conversations are bound to take place. Any woman who stands taller than the average man is unusual, of course, and height is a part of our identity. That said, don’t be a moron. Tall women hear about their height from everyone they meet. Try striking up a conversation about anything else – it’ll set you apart from all the other people who think our height is the obvious icebreaker.

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Shirley Won
Special to The Globe and Mail

University of Ottawa student Leila Moumouni-Tchouassi has struggled to finance and finish her degree over the past six years. But she aims to finally get her BA in international development and globalization in 2019 and then find a job as a community services worker. After juggling full- and part-time jobs and helping her parents financially on occasion, she is feeling the strain of owing $30,000 on her government student loan and $6,000 on her credit card.

"Most of my stress comes from all this debt," says the 23-year-old undergrad who works for her university's student union as well as part-time at a clothing store for tall women. "I am 6 foot 5 and my clothes are very expensive. I started working at the store so that I could get a discount on clothes." Many students are relying on financial aid and part-time work to fund their education as tuition fees climb. For the 2018-2019 academic year, average undergrad post-secondary tuition in Canada rose to $6,838, up 3.3 per cent from the previous year. Loans may be the only way for some to afford higher education, but students need to be mindful of the pitfalls when borrowing and repaying them.

LOANS

"There is good debt and bad debt, but definitely getting a student loan to improve your education and employability is good debt," says Laurie Campbell, chief executive officer of Credit Canada, a credit-counselling agency.

"But one of the things that we see with students is that they don't judiciously use that money over the year. They sometimes blow it in the first couple of months."

To avoid a cash crunch after paying for tuition and books, students should consider a part-time job and figure out a monthly budget to cover rent, food and sundry costs such as transportation, Ms. Campbell advises. "What we see often is many young people coming out of school with large credit-card debt."

Students often don't worry about racking up loans because they figure they can pay it off once they get their "plum career position, but the reality is that they have to start at the bottom," she says. "Often, the income does not allow for a reasonable repayment for all this debt. They can find themselves in default, and not knowing how to manage it."

But applying for a government loan is worthwhile, even if a student qualifies for only a small one, because it opens the door to potential scholarships, bursaries and grants, says financial blogger Kyle Prevost, co-author of More Money for Beer and Textbooks, a financial guide for Canadian students.

In addition to federal and provincial loans, students may be eligible for free money.

Ottawa offers grants of up to $3,000 a year for full-time students from lower-income families. Ontario and New Brunswick provide free tuition for students meeting income criteria. And Newfoundland and Labrador give students grants if they study in-province or outside for certain programs.

LINE OF CREDIT

A student line of credit is also an option for funding, he says. "If parents co-sign with the student, that should drop the interest rate substantially." Interest on a credit line must be paid once money is withdrawn, while interest on a government loan need not be repaid until after graduation and will generate an income-tax credit, too, he adds.

Some provinces, such as Manitoba, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, don't charge any interest on their loans.

REPAYMENT

Repayment rules on government loans also vary. Most graduates don't need to pay back the federal portion until they earn $25,000 a year. For Ontario loans, graduates can wait until they make $35,000 a year. And British Columbia will forgive loans to students who work in publicly funded health-care facilities in underserved communities or with children in certain occupations.

Graduates need to "make an achievable plan to pay a loan back as soon as they are working," says Steve Bridge, a financial planner with Money Coaches Canada. "It's making sure you have enough money for everything else in your life, such as a cellphone, car insurance, rent, groceries and clothing. Sometimes people attack their loan too aggressively and they end up running up their credit cards."

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Models are known for their lanky physiques, but one former catwalk pro is attempting to trump the Guinness World Record holder for the world’s longest legs.

“I believe that they are definitely the longest in Australia and, as far as I know, in America too,” Caroline Arthur, a former model based in Melbourne, told Barcroft Media.

The 39-year-old mother of two has legs that extend 51.5 inches from hip to heel. Barcroft reported that the current record holder, Svetlana Pakratova, a Russian woman, has legs that measure 51.9 inches long.

“Because it’s so close, I think it is worth contacting them and finding out exactly where they measure from and getting an official, accurate measurement done,” Arthur, who is a dermotherapist, told the website.

Arthur stands at 6 feet 2 inches tall, and her legs account for 69 percent of her body.

When she began modeling around age 15, her legs helped her nab gigs but also get rejected from them, she told Barcroft.

“I was told that I’m too tall for Australian beauty standards and couldn’t model clothes because they just wouldn’t fit me,” Arthur told Barcroft. “So as much as I did get work because of my long legs, I also got knocked back for the same reason.”

Her husband, named only as Cameron, is about the same height as her.

“Being married to her is definitely good for my posture because I have to stand up straight,” Cameron joked to Barcroft.

Cameron reportedly built the family’s house with 10-foot-tall ceilings and extra-high kitchen countertops for their tall family.

After struggling with self-image issues as a teenager, Arthur said she has learned to embrace her height yet still struggles to find close that fit her lengthy frame.

“I can honestly say now, as a 39-year-old woman, I’m the most secure in my own skin that I have ever been,” she told Barcroft. “I feel more beautiful than I ever have in my life. It takes time, and you go through stages, but now I definitely see my legs as a positive thing.”

The couple’s children, 13-year-old Cooper, who stands at 6 feet 2 inches tall, and 15-year-old Zoe, who is 5 feet 9 inches tall, agree.

“I think that Mom looks really beautiful, and I really aspire to look like her,” Zoe told Barcroft.

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By Zoe Beaty - 23 September 2015
Junior Commissioning Editor/ Senior Features Writer

‘Oh my goodness!’ says the photographer, as he crouches by my feet. I’m sat in probably one of the most compromising positions of my career so far: squeezing (with ungraceful difficulty) both bum cheeks on to a chair more or less the size of one of my size eight – OK, sometimes size nine – shoes. It’s a child’s chair and I, quite obviously, am a rather large adult. Or, as the photographer puts it between bellowing ‘Ha!’ every couple of seconds, ‘You’re enormous!’

He was, of course, joking. And I didn’t mind – besides, it’s not like I haven’t heard it before. I’m six feet tall with a 35-inch leg – which makes me far from small, despite being a size 12. I’m the girl who blocks your view at gigs, who hugs you awkwardly and walks with a subtly bowed head and a slightly self-conscious stoop.

Being a tall woman naturally attracts a lot of attention. As many other ‘outsized’ women will know, people (usually strangers) like to point out height as a ‘surprising’ fact that may have formerly gone unnoticed. To get you up to speed, if you’re of average height or smaller,imagine being told every day – or most days – that you have ears. ‘Oh, yes, I do,’ you’d reply, acting politely enlightened. Then,if you’re like me, you’ll turn around to obscure your face while violently rolling your eyes. Of course, despite annoyances (being asked, ‘How’s the weather up there?’ is rage-inducing), being tall has its perks– even the term ‘above average’ height connotes positivity and being ‘statuesque’ has long been viewed as an attribute of superiority. It’s the reason most women torture their toes in sky-high heels and why men on Tinder blatantly lie about their height. But, despite so many women coveting loftiness, its association with masculinity often means that, practically, it’s not always what it’s cracked up to be.

It might sound like a humblebrag, but having legs too long to fit under a desk –or, on a more uncomfortable level, within the confines of a standard plane seat – is genuinely pretty irritating. In women’s toilets I can rarely look in the mirrorwithout doing an awkward knee bend– something I often whip out in group photos, lest my head gets completely cutoff. Hugging short people means my chest is in perfect alignment with their face and I’ve only ever found one bath that was long enough for me to lie down in. At school I was the ‘lanky’ one, sometimes called names for standing out a little too much and put in detention for my standard-size uniform skirtwhich, simply because I had more to show, revealed more leg than the other girls’ skirts did. And as a young teenager I was disliked by boys who I unwittingly emasculated. It’s hard to put your arm around someone almost a foot taller than you – they tended to prefer the ‘cuter’ girls who could sit daintily on their lap. Later, my height became a more prominent part of my identity – while my friends were defined as ‘the funny one’ or ‘the pretty one’, I was branded ‘the tall one’.

Slowly, as I went out more to pubs and clubs, my body became a kind of public property. Guys would think nothing of walking up to me and prodding my legs as if to prove they were real, and sweaty men pressed their clammy bodies against mine in a ‘height comparison’ game. If they ‘won’, their chests would swell with pride at their newly validated masculinity– if they lost, I’d be not only tall but ‘freakishly’ so, to soothe their bruised egos. Compliments always come off as slightly back-handed: ‘Don’t worry,’ I’m often told, ‘I like tall women!’ as though I should be grateful that someone is finally interested in me, despite my being a small giantess.

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Tall Girls auf DVD

Wer TALL GIRLS bei ARTE verpasst hat, kann sich immer noch hier im Store die Kinofassung auf DVD bestellen!

Und so funktioniert es: wenn Ihr in Deutschland, Österreich oder der Schweiz wohnt und eine deutsche Fassung kaufen möchtet, drückt Ihr einfach auf “store” und wählt aus, in welches Land der Film geschickt werden soll, bevor Ihr bezahlt. Ihr könnt über PayPal direkt bezahlen, auch wenn Ihr keine Kreditkarte habt, sondern nur eine EC-Karte. Wer nicht gern online einkauft oder keine EC-Karte hat, kann sich gern mit uns in Verbindung setzen. Ihr könnt uns das Geld dann direkt überweisen. Wer eine internationale Fassung bestellen möchte oder großen Freundinnen oder Verwandten im Ausland eine Freude machen möchte: bitte drückt auf den englischen Button und dann auf “store.” Dort habt Ihr die Auswahl zwischen zwei internationalen Fassungen. Wir bearbeiten jeden Eingang sofort und verschicken die Filme so schnell wie möglich! This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Tall Girls

Eins davon bin ich. Ich bin Filmemacherin und 1,86m groß. Fünf Jahre habe ich gebraucht, um diesen Film wirklich zu machen. Warum? Weil ich – wie alle großen Frauen bisher nicht gern darüber geredet habe, wie es sich wirklich anfühlt, so groß zu sein. Mit diesem Film gehen wir an die Öffentlichkeit. Das Leben ab 1,85 ist anders. Egal, ob Du Model bist, Basketballerin oder ein völlig normales Leben führst. Hier oben gelten andere Regeln.

Website

Tall Girls DVD is available!

The Tall Girls DVD is available right here at our "store". This it how it works: there are two international versions available, one is PAL, the other NTSC, both with English subtitles. If you are not sure what you need, contact us, we'll look it up for you. Rule of thumb: you'll need NTSC in Canada, the US, Japan and much of South America and PAL in most of Europe and Australia. If you are from a SECAM country in Eastern European countries or from France please make sure that your DVD player will play a PAL DVD. Also, I would like to draw your attention to the less digitally inclined. If you have tall mothers or grandmothers or even great-grandmothers who grew up tall in the 30s, 40s, 50s or 60s, please make them aware of this film or – even better – give it to them as a gift. During my screening tour with Tall Girls I met tall women well over 70 years old who had had a very annnoying and difficult time growing up. Some of their stories moved us to tears. They told us that for them TALL GIRLS was a belated recognition that they had not been alone in their experiences. It's so much easier for us to connect with each other now so let's applaud those who had to figure it out all by themselves and paved the way for us. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Tall Girls

I'm one of them. I'm a filmmaker and 6'1" (1.86m) tall. It took me five years to make this film. Why? Because like most tall women, I don't like talking about what it really feels like to be so tall. But now we're going public. It doesn't matter if you're a model or basketball player or if you lead a very normal existence, life above 1.85m (6') is different. Other rules apply up here. "Tall Girls – A Story Of Giants" chronicles my journey into the heart of tall.

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Tall Girls - eins davon bin ich. Ich bin Filmemacherin und 1,86m groß. Fünf Jahre habe ich gebraucht, um diesen Film wirklich zu machen. Warum? Weil ich - wie alle großen Frauen bisher nicht gern darüber geredet habe, wie es sich wirklich anfühlt, so groß zu sein.

Mit diesem Film gehen wir an die Öffentlichkeit. Das Leben ab 1,85 ist anders. Egal, ob Du Model bist, Basketballerin oder ein völlig normales Leben führst. Hier oben gelten andere Regeln. Tiiu und Michelle sind Top-Models und zu groß für ihren Job. Arianne hat eine Mutter, die ihre Größe nicht mag. Sarah lässt sich operieren, um nicht 1,90m zu werden, Lea nimmt Hormone, die für Kinder nicht zugelassen sind. Lisa ist zwei Meter groß und könnte ein Basketball-Star werden, wenn sie sich sehr anstrengt. Aber sie möchte lieber ein richtiges Mädchen sein.

Das Internet ist voll von Mädchen, die an ihrem Wachstum verzweifeln und bereit sind, alles zu tun, damit es endlich aufhört. Jeder Kinderarzt hat heutzutage eine Größentabelle an der Wand hängen, an der man von klein auf erkennen kann, ob man normal ist oder nicht.

Aber was ist eigentlich normal? Jede Norm ist ein Durchschnittswert aus vielen Menschen. Die Wahrscheinlichkeit, dass man dieser Norm exakt entspricht, ist sehr gering. Trotzdem wachsen wir in einer Gesellschaft auf, in der uns vielfach über unsere Familie und unser Umfeld sehr deutlich vermittelt wird, ob wir reinpassen oder nicht. Besonders als Mädchen. Groß, laut und selbstbewusst - besser nicht.

Dabei werden wir oft das, was andere in unseren Körpern sehen. Tiiu, Michelle, Arianne, Sarah, Lea und Lisa zeigen in diesem Film, wie sie leben, was sie fühlen und wie sie mit ihrer Größe umgehen. Und was ihre Größe aus ihnen gemacht hat.

Manchmal ist es zum Weinen, oft zum Lachen, vor allen Dingen aber verliebt man sich in diese Tall Girls, die ganz offen zeigen, wie schwer und gleichzeitig befreiend es sein kann, neben der Norm zu leben.

Tall girls unite! Women are sharing their pictures in #TallGirlTwitter

By Rebecca Keane

We've all been there - suffering dumb comments from strangers or friends alike because of our height. Big Bird, Gigantor, BFG are just a few mean names that spring to mind.

Finally, tall girls are getting the appreciation they deserve in a form of a hashtag online.

#TallGirlsTwitter is a hashtag tweeters began using to support the acceptance of beauty at all heights.

In a society where petite women are prized, taller women can struggle to feel beautiful and can even sometimes be mocked when buying high heels or trying to find a partner. RUDE.

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Tall Is about More Than Height, Says Local Clothing Company

Two sisters set out to create a fashion line, Amalli Talli, that caters to tall women, building a community of body positivity locally and online

By Anne Kopas, Published: November 2017

Local clothing company Amalli Talli describes its mission with a provocative tagline: “We strongly believe that tall isn’t solely defined by height and comes in a variety of shapes and sizes.”

Wait, tall isn’t defined by height?

It’s a piece of the larger fashion trend of body positivity, of accepting that we’re not all built like supermodels and that every body is different. Amy Rosenthal and Alli Black, two sisters who stand 6’ 3.5” and 5’10.5” respectively, understand this on a personal level. Despite both being tall, each sister found different challenges in shopping the “tall” sections of women’s clothing. Some women carry their height in long torsos; others with long legs. Because of this, one tall size doesn’t always fit all.

The sisters opened Amalli Talli in an Eden Prairie mall in 2014 to provide clothing that met both their own needs and those of other tall women. “We needed a solution that represented the full spectrum of women,” Rosenthal says. They borrowed concepts from men’s clothing sizing, labeling their selection by inseam length and other measures of proportion instead of the ambiguous numbers that plague most women’s clothing. The sisters describe the store’s style as “approachable,” offering both staple pieces (jeans, black dresses, activewear) and trendier clothing (the type of thing you’d see on Pinterest, Rosenthal says).

During their time as a brick-and-mortar shop before going exclusively online last year, Rosenthal and Black say the emotional response to their clothing was unexpected. Women would laugh or cry with relief at finding clothing that made them feel at home in their own body after feeling self-conscious about their height for so long. They describe a long-legged woman who was still too short to shop most “tall” shops, and her excitement over finally finding jeans that fit. “We want to create a community where women feel comfortable,” Black says.

In order to expand this community, Amalli Talli closed their physical store and went online-only. It's a sign of the times, not a sign of defeat: it's simply easier to reach a wider audience if your customers can shop from their homes. So far, the sisters say they’ve received messages of thanks from women as far away as Australia. “It speaks to the time that we’re in,” Black says. It also allows them to grow their private label, in addition to their curated selection of clothing from other designers.

As the business grows, the sisters hope to make a positive contribution to the self-esteem of tall women everywhere. As Black writes on Amalli Talli’s website, “Nothing is more rewarding than giving people the opportunity to feel good about themselves.” 

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Tall Life is now available in both eBook format and paperback on Amazon (.com, .co.uk, .ca etc.). There is also a website that parallels and extends the book: http://www.Tall.Life. The following is a description of the book and then the author.

Being tall coincides with considerable professional, athletic, and social benefits. Yet there are also some problems for tall people, and these raise some questions. For instance, if longer levers and more cells really are behind increased risk of injuries and cancer, then how is it that giraffes get by? And why is it that society reveres tall stature, but then compromises our safety with cramped cars and other things? And, as tall women might be pondering, where have all the tall, dark, and handsome men gone? Lastly, what can be done about all this? These questions and more will all be answered by a tall protagonist over eight chapters: Evolution, Scaling, Spine, Manufactured, Ergonomics, Growth, Longevity, and Society.

About the Author: Sam Lochner received his PhD in mechanical engineering from the University of Waterloo in 2013. His work and research relates to mass customization and biomechanics. At 6'7", he has experienced both the pros and cons of being tall. In particular, it was central in both reaching the provincial volleyball level, but then becoming a chronic back pain sufferer. Yet by drawing on his engineering aptitude, he was able to recover. This, and other experiences related to his height, inspired him to write Tall Life.

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Tall stories: Five Northern Ireland ladies tell us about the high life

Some of the world's most beautiful women stand around six feet tall. Think of a supermodel and the chances are she is over six feet tall - and that's before she has pulled on a pair of teetering heels and strode down the runway.

Gisele Bundchen, Heidi Klum and Erin O'Connor are all at least 5ft 10ins, while iconic beauties such as the late Diana, Princess of Wales, was also about an inch off the six foot mark,- once she had slipped into a pair of courts and added a hat Prince Charles could look like a rather small man indeed.

To put it all into some sort of lofty perspective, the height of the average woman in the UK is a diminutive 5ft 3ins. No wonder, then, that so many of us can only look up to these fashion icons with envy.

After all, we imagine, clothes would look so much better if our legs were just a couple of inches longer. How easy it would be to stand out from the crowd - quite literally.

Then again, maybe our longing to be taller amounts to the height of nonsense. In a world where the average rules, many taller ladies complain that finding clothes to suit their measurements isn't easy - hence the rise of chains such as Long Tall Sally.

And then, of course, there is the delicate area of relationships.

Some might reckon it would take a big man indeed to be happy to step out with a woman who was, er, head and shoulders above him. Just look at how quickly Caroline Wozniacki stuck the stiletto in when Rory McIlroy ended his relationship with her, with the low blow that being single meant it would be nice to be able to wear heels again.

So, what is it really like to be a tall woman? We talk to five ladies about the long and short of it.

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Tall student bullied over her height reveals how she beat haters after years of hunching to appear more ladylike

Tamara Alireza, 34, used to be terrified of wearing high heels, but now she embraces her lofty physique

By Anthony Harvison
16:44, 31 AUG 2018
UPDATED 16:46, 31 AUG 2018

As a 13-year-old schoolgirl, Tamara Alireza stood head and shoulders above her classmates. At 6ft 1ins, she towered over the teachers, too. But while most teenagers would love to add a few inches to their frame, Tamara found herself the target of school bullies who tormented her for being tall. Despite her sporty stature, she was made to feel small and picked on for being 'different'. Tamara spent her informative years struggling to fit in and doing everything possible to look shorter and more "lady-like". She avoided being photographed and even walked hunched-over to conceal her true height. High heels were a definite no-no. Now aged 34, Tamara stands proud at 6ft 2ins – or a leggy 6ft 7ins in her favourite heels.

Not only has she embraced her enviable physique but has used it to her advantage as an accomplished children's author and anti-bullying campaigner. She looks down her nose at bullies and uses her own experiences to help youngsters nationwide. "They say the worst thing about being different is that you become a moving target for bullies. Unfortunately for me, I was a moving target they literally couldn't miss," Tamara said. "But it wasn't just the bullies who were making my life difficult. Society, generally, made me feel unwelcome. The bullies were a reflection of the times. "Fast-forward a few years and I came to love my body and myself. I realised that everyone is different, and that diversity needs to be cherished, nurtured and celebrated – not ostracised." She added: "We are all different and we are all equal."

Last year, shocking figures published by the Anti-Bullying Alliance revealed that more than half of children aged between eight and 16 worried about being 'different'. Of these, 40 per cent admitted they would "hide" or "change aspects of themselves" to avoid being bullied. Worryingly, more than a third (36 per cent) of those questioned thought that teachers did not do enough to educate pupils about what to do if they became victims. Tamara is among those who experienced bullying first-hand. As a child, she was tall for her age. But a growth spurt in her early teens meant she would tower over her peers – and her family - into adulthood. It left her self-conscious and at the mercy of cruel classmates, whose jibes compounded her lack of confidence. "When my friends all started wearing high-heels and make-up, I wore the flattest-soled shoes I could find so that I would fit in," she said.

Her height also made everyday tasks challenging. She found buying clothes – and especially dresses – "almost impossible". She was also forced to wear men's shoes because women's sizes rarely accommodated her size 10.5 feet. And the prospect of being photographed with pals was "particularly unappealing". Instead, she would sit in the front or stoop over. Dating was, she says, "not at all easy". "I felt uncomfortable in my own skin, it's that simple," she added. But by her mid-20s, Tamara finally came to terms with her height. Today, Tamara has no problems with being one of the tallest students at Royal Imperial College, London, where she has been studying for a PhD in neuroscience specialising in Parkinson's disease. She has used her own experiences to help others – most notably her nephew who was relentlessly bullied at school.

Her latest book, Steiny's Rhapsody , tells the inspirational story of a grand piano in a music store who suffers at the hands of the other instruments.

Steiny, like Tamara, eventually learns to love himself.

Tamara added: "Society is changing and, in time, so will people's attitudes to bullying. In the meantime, we all need to love the skin we're in – and refuse to cower down to the bullies."

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By Katie Sewell,Dec. 7, 2016, Posted in Lifestyle

We all want the fairy tale love story. Unfortunately, being a tall woman can sometimes seem like a burden when chasing true love.I’m 6’3” – something I get informed of almost every day by people I barely know. It’s as if they think I’m not already aware of the fact that I am taller than the average UK man. To make me more of a genetic freak I also have bright blonde hair, an attribute which, when combined with my height, has earned me the nickname ‘Flaming Beacon’ when I go out clubbing with squad.

For a very long time, I hated my height. As a teenager, I mastered the art of the ‘forward leg bend’, a move that the tall folk reading this will also be well acquainted with. In every group photo where I look normal in height, rest assured, the forward leg bend is in operation and my thigh muscles are in agony.

The main concern of my youth, as I’m sure was the same for many other angsty teenage girls, was whether or not somebody could possibly love me. I was doomed to a life of cats and one bedroom flats, I was sure of it.

Boys were a good head and shoulders beneath me until around the end of secondary school; even at sixth form a boy being taller than me was a novelty. My poor mother had to deal with many a teary breakdown at my self-deemed unworthiness of love.

My dad, an enormous man of 6’10”, didn’t see what the problem was. He was convinced, as most dads are, that his daughter was the most beautiful thing in the world. “Fluffy, the men will be lining around the block for you,” he would say. I was constantly reassured, but without the affirmation of a boyfriend, the words of my loved ones fell on deaf ears.

When I arrived at university, like pretty much any other student, I entered into the Tinder-sphere. I was frequently told I would be perfect ‘if only I were shorter’, boys frequently using the excuse that they could never, ever date a girl that was taller than them. So, naturally, I did the ‘boy thing’ and lied about my height on my profile. 6’3” Katie from Essex became 6 foot. How cheeky.

But please, don’t feel too sorry for me. My sad tall girl self-esteem crisis does have a slightly ‘happy ending’. Last year, one lad I liked on Tinder and I went on a date. Turns out he’d lied about his height, like a lot of lads do.

However, and rather fortunately for me, he’d lied about quite how tall he was. So 6’5” Dave was actually nearer to 6’8”. Get in. And just a couple of weeks ago, we went to Sweden (to be among the other tall freaks of the world) for our first trip away as a couple. Aww.

So, for those of you reading who are long-limbed, male or female, here is my advice: don’t hide yourself away. You are a genetic marvel, with a guaranteed good view at any concert.

Don’t ever let someone make you feel small for being anything but. If anyone mocks you, then that’s their problem, and certainly isn’t something you should be concerning yourself with. One day the right person will come, and they will love every inch of you.

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Hello, girls (or young ladies respectively)!

On these pages you may have to read about dangerous people you might meet online. This website, as well as many others, is going to try and warn you about the dangers of being online. But I'd like to go one step further and that's why this website is going to be there for you and support you if required. I know we're not yet talking "height" but this topic is one I find extremely important. So, do me, your parents, friends and yourself a favour, Love... be careful and wary! We don't want you to become a "missing child", do we? :-)

For a database of very dangerous people go to www.familywatchdog.us - and don't forget to tell your parents about it. They might want to check it out too! There is  another website that you and / or your parents might want to take a look at: http://www.sexualoffenders.com

In the aftermath of the murder of ten year old Holly and Jessica who were abducted and killed in Soham, UK, the BBC Children's Website has come up with a few tips for staying safe. Click here to read these tips and remember - no matter where you are, it's good to remain safe! More advice from the BBC Website.

Some advice from Tall Ladies who are no longer Teens

Barbara Worton, the author of TOO TALL ALICE (Alice is eight years old, and "...four inches taller than any of the other girls in my class...") believes self-esteem is the greatest gift in life. "Self-esteem," Barbara says, "is the certainty right down to your DNA that you are just perfect as you are and have the right to be accepted, respected, and live a happy and successful life." And that message comes through loud and clear in TOO TALL ALICE.

Lorie Ann has teamed up with me in order to improve the "Tall Teens & Kids" Project. She was a Ballerina until her height (she's 6ft) caught up with her.  Lorie Ann has since become a successful writer and she's co-founded Readergirlz, an online book community celebrating gutsy girls in life & literature. Make sure to read the Readergirlz April 2007 Manifesta and check out Lorie Ann's myspace.com profile!

 "You like being tall???"

What does "tall" mean in the context of this website? Well, if you're grown up you'll be considered tall if you're 5'10" or over. If you're - say - 12 and 5'8" - you'll be considered tall. It's usually relative... if you feel you're too tall you've come to the right place. If you're still not fully grown and would like to know how tall you are going to get you can try http://www.kidsgrowth.com/hc/height.cfm - I don't know how reliable this is but it's an interesting approach.

This is interesting: The Tall Club International offer TCI Students Scholarships of up to $1000 each to tall students who are under 21 years of age and attending  their first year of college in the following Fall. The recipients must also meet  the TCI height requirement minimums of 5'10" for women and 6'2" for men.

From wide-fit shoes and maternity ranges to plus-size accessories, there's something for everyone in UK shops. The question is, why do they bother where others don't?

Read the full article on the Guardian website